Fire-escape



(No Model.) 4 7 1X KOLOSEUS. FIRE ESCAPE.

No. "508,226. Patented Nov; 7,1893. ay]. 2.

Lil ll l II II II II II H H II II II H n II II n n a UNITED States PATENT O i rrcne MAX KOLOSEUS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FIRETESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 508,226, dated November 7, 1893. Application filed OctoberZZ, 1892. Serial No.449,564.- (No model.)

To on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ll/IAX KoLsEUs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes; and I do declare I the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of fire-escapes, in which .a series of permanently secured platforms or balconies, are arranged at the different stories of a building, and connected by ladders or steps and all the parts madeof solid wrought iron or steel found in the market.

The object of the invention is to produce the ice-proof platforms or balconies, and also the rungs of the ladders or steps, by the use of bars ofwrought iron or steel, and of such cross-sections, that the upper edges of the bars always form a sharp edge to the tread, to prevent the formation or accumulation of ice, snow or water thereon; and by scarfing or roughening them to prevent slipping; also to prevent the bars from cracking or breaking, by frost or the uneven contraction and expan-- sion, caused by different degrees of temperature, as well, as the breaking them, by falling bricks or other heavy articles, as is now the case with those made of cast iron.

The invention consists in the peculiar construction of certain details, and the combination of parts, as will be more fully described hereinafter, and specifically pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon.

Like letters indicate similar parts in the diflerent figures of the drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a building with my fire-escape, consisting of double or treble balconies, and having inclined steps or ladders. Fig. 2 is a modification with single balconies in perspective and avertical ladder. Fig. 3. is a sectional detail of part of a ladder on an enlarged scale. Fig. at is a perspective view of part of a sectional platform. Fig. 5 is a modified bar with scarfs or roughened edges. Fig. 6 is a detail side view of bars, riveted to crossbars. Fig. 7 shows modifications in cross-section of wrought-iron or steel bars,to be employed.

In the drawings, A, represents a building, which can be of anysizejand construction, and it may be a hotel, school, theater, store, warehouse, factory, tenement, or other private or public building. Suitable plain or ornamental balconies B are secured to this building in a strong and substantial manner, and openings are made in these balconies to pass from one to the other, by inclined ladders or steps D, secured in any manner to said balconies. If desired the balconies may be single, as shown in Fig. 2, and the ladders or steps are then made vertical, and hand-railings to fold or fixed, may be employed. The floors of the balconies are made of solid wroughtiron or steel bars E, which are of triangular, square, diamond-shaped, or other shape of cross-section, always however placed with their sharp edges upward, so asto prevent the formation or accumulation of ice or snow on them. These bars E are secured either in transverse or longitudinal manner to flat-bars, forming or attached to a suitable frame, in any way desired, or they may be arranged in sections, as shown in Fig. 4, or singly. Said bars E are flattened at their ends or at intervals, and secured by rivets a" or bolts to flat bars 8, as shown in Fig. 6.

In the construction of ice-clearing balconies heretofore the practice, as far as I know, has been to cast the floor-plates in sections of considerable size, the ice-clearing cutting edges being obtained by casting the plates with openings or perforations with sharp bevels formed upon the connectinglines of metal presented upward. This is quite necessary in the use of a cheap material like cast iron 5 but connecting lines and bridges of metal so-close together detract materially from the efficiency of the device to readily clear itself of ice. By forming thebalcony floor of sections composed of supporting flat bars placed widely apart and solid bars 'of wrought iron or steel, vpresenting a sharp edge upward and entirely disconnected from each other except by the said fiat and widely placed supporting bars, I obtain a floor of snflicient strength yet leaving long open spaces, uninterrupted by portions of metal bridging from bar to bar, by which means I obtain a much more ready and efiectual clearance of the floor section of ice and snow.

The bars may be provided with scarfs e, indentations, orroughened in any other manner desired, as seen in Figs. 4 and 5.

I am aware of the patents to Cowles, No. 273,032, and No. 236,784; to Hamil, No. 305,590; to Cluse, No. 370,685; to MacLean, No. 328,953; to Murphy, N01 262,972; and to Bushnell, No. 268,078, and disclaim the construction therein shown, and I am also aware, that it is not broadly new to flatten two irregular surfaces at the points of juncture, to receive rivets or bolts, but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The fire-escape herein described, consisting of the platforms B made of the flat bars S, to which the solid disconnected triangular bars E provided with scarfs e and having reduced ends are riveted, and theladders D, provided with rungs d of the same cross-section, and hinged to said platforms all made of solid wrought iron or steel, and all constructed and arranged as shown and specified to form an ice-proof fire-escape.

2. In a balcony fire escape the balcony described, provided with a floor or floor sections formed of suitable supporting bars spaced widely apart and having secured thereon disconnected bars of wrought iron or steel, presenting a sharp edge upward, whereby long slits or openings between bar and bar are formed for the ready clearance of ice and snow therefrom as set forth.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MAX KOLOSEUS.

Witnesses:

OSCAR O. CHASE, JOHN L. RODGERS. 

